Email Marketingfor Admissions:
It’s not dead, it’s just different.
Kevin Corr, Director of Sales
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Is email dead?
Nope.But it has changed.
ReasonsContent
Mom & Dad
Do they read email anymore?
Social technologies like text messaging relegated to friends.
“Remember, you’re not
their friend.”
“Communicate with Old Folks”
Email has aged well (believe it or not)
Is it still cool?
"Sure. It's just not the same way it was when it was the shiny new toy
that every marketer was scrambling to implement as the
1990s faded away."
-- Wendy Roth, iMedia Connection
http://www.imediaconnection.com/printpage/printpage.aspx?id=26242
Email has evolved...
“Email is once again all about the conversation”
"Email began as a one-to-one medium."
"But marketers quickly recognized its value as a one-to-many model and began treating email messages as if
they were electronic catalogs and sales circulars."
1:1
“These days, the most effective approach is a one-
to-some model”
More messages Smaller groups
PersonalizationRelevance
The next level
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
3. Conversations among human beings sound human.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is helping to
make messages much more targeted and personalized.
Stop talking at me like you don’t know
who I am!
“If you haven’t already” “applied”
“registered”“visited”
“Email today is about each individual recipient -- how to gain and retain
their trust, send them messages they find more valuable, and market to them where they are, regardless of browser, platform or device. Email isn't just about email anymore."
-- Wendy Roth, iMedia Connection
Try and provide value to the student at their
current stage -- rather than just trying to push
them through to the next.
Marketing may be collective, but buying is
personal.The Cluetrain Manifesto
“Not only is marketing no longer one-way, it’s not even two-way. It’s a conversation
between you, me and everyone I’m talking to about what we’re
talking about.”
Email also remains the best way to communicate with working adults looking at part-time graduate and
undergraduate programs.
They say you need to definitively answer your readers' three
biggest questions or risk losing them:
Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon, Email Insiderhttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=125599
8seconds
1. What is this email about?2. Why should I care about it?3. What should I do about it?
1. What is this email about?2. Why should I care about it?3. What should I do about it?
“Strive for a balance of copy and
imagery that gets the message across
without overwhelming the reader.”
“Work towards a design that
guides recipients' eyes exactly
where they need to go.”
Not a catch-all solution
Your “Toolbox”
Your “Toolbox”
Old Me!a is the best way to promote
New Me!a.
Think more like a publisher
(not a marketer)
“Don’t chase the tools. Chase the goals.”
-Howard@BlueFuego
Great online content is:
Brief ShareableUseful
Personal Fresh
Relevant to Your Goals
1Know your role.
When to use email?
Event invites/remindersConfirmations
SurveysNotifications
Process Updates
Promote new (valuable)content
on your site
2Get to the point.
“We are a nation of email skimmers and scanners, looking for something relevant
while hovering over the delete button. Give your readers every opportunity to
hang in there until they find something they like.”
-- Ray Ulmer, TargetX
Throw Shakespeare
out the window.
Skip the introKeep it shortSay it once
No blocks of textDesign to skimBold key words?
Exercise: What’s the point
of this email?
Make that your 1st sentence.
“You’re invited to attend our Open House
on October 24th.”
Which words can you delete?
3Make the call.
Call to action?!
“Make sure your most crucial
information -- especially headlines and
calls-to-action -- is kept above the fold.
Remember that people often read just
headlines and CTAs.”
“Use easy-to-find,
straightforward CTAs that tell
people exactly what will happen
when they click.”
Set it offBoldLink
Center?
4Inform your subjects.
DescriptiveClever
“Hook and label”Key words first
A/B test
No spammy words DON’T SCREAM
Don’t repeat school nameDon’t merge first name
“Don’t Miss Out”“Last Chance”
“We’re Waiting”“Check this out”
“Open House Invitation”
“Take our campus visit survey”
“Missing transcript”
“Chat with us today”
Citation
5Don’t trust the media;)
Prospects (especially parents) often have images
disabled.
Proceed as if the images aren’t
rendering.
Does the message still make sense?
Is it readable?
6Easy on the html.
Too much html :
Screams“marketing”+
Hurts deliverability
Keep the focus on the call to
action
We’re past the point of “html for its own sake”
(Keep it simple stupid;)
7Test. Test. Test.
LinksMultiple Browsers
A/B SplitSubject Lines
The best way to determine frequency
& timing
Know your audience.
“A lot of what can be counted doesn’t
count, and a lot of what counts
can’t be counted.” -Albert Einstein
8No magic day or time.
Have a plan.
5/21 1st Email
5/27 Plain-text followup
6/9 2nd Email
6/16 Plain-text followup
6/16 Link and Instructions
6/19 “Day-of reminder”6/22 Link to video and slides
Date Message Audience
Did not view/interact
Did not view/interact
RegistrantsRegistrantsRegistrants
All
All
The followup should be part
of the plan.
How much is too much?
What stage?WIIFM?
9Court the ‘rents.
Are you collecting
email addresses?
Inquiry CardsApplication
Campus Visits/EventsWebsite
http://www.scu.edu/family/parent-email.cfm
Parent Content:
Address Cost Process
Personalize Notifications
10Segment and personalize.
ParentsGuidance Counselors
“Local”Alums (for Grad Schools)
Consider Plans For:
Bonus!
Be a tease.
Use the “P.S.”
Yield?
Graduation
Summer Movies
Packing Lists for College
Advice from Recent Graduates
Favorite High School Memory/Teacher?
Favorite Book/Song/Band
Which dorm will you be in?
Source: The Lawlor Group
"You just don't know for sure whether
students are coming until you see the
whites of their eyes and their butts in the
seats."
If we have a mantra for the summer, it's
"stay in touch with your prospects"
Touch points don’t matter if you’re
not building relationships
What will you do differently?
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Kevin Corr, Director of Sales
Thank You!